Camera support arm

ABSTRACT

An assembly for mounting a remotely controlled camera ( 14 ) includes a frame affixed to a mounting surface for supporting the camera. A first member ( 32 ) is rotationally mounted to the frame ( 24 ) defining a first axis of rotation. A second member ( 34 ) is rotationally mounted to the first member ( 32 ) defining a second axis of rotation ( 36 ) intersecting the first axis of rotation. The camera ( 14 ) is rotationally mounted to the second member ( 34 ) at a location spaced from the second axis of rotation ( 36 ) so that the camera rotates around at least a third axis and a fourth axis relative to the second member.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally toward an assembly for mountinga remote controlled camera. More specifically, the invention relatestoward an assembly for mounting a camera to provide unique angles ofphotography at sporting or other entertainment events.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

To benefit television viewership of athletic events, efforts have beenmade to improve the visual angles a camera can videotape the athleticevent for transmission. One widely used method of filming a sportingevent uses a camera suspended from a wire stretching across an athleticfield or arena. The camera is remotely controlled and moves along thecable to track the action of the sporting event. This camera arrangementgenerally allows rotation of the camera around two axis, but merelyprovides a long distance view of the sporting event.

Occasionally, a camera has been mounted to the helmet of an athlete toprovide a field level view of the athletic event to enhance theexcitement for the television audience. While a camera mounted in thismanner has provided some unique camera angles, rarely does the cameraactually produce a desirable line of sight for taping or transmission.Recent improvements in computer technology has provided a 360° view ofthe athletic event, but has required the use of a significant number ofcameras spaced around the athletic field or arena. The computercorrelates each of the images from these cameras to produce a threedimensional view of the athletic event. However, this three dimensionalview can only be replayed at a later time and is not intended for use inreal time transmission. Furthermore, the installation of this system hasproven to be quite expensive and has only been used on a limited basis.

Because of the drawbacks of the camera assemblies discussed above, themost frequent form of filming an athletic event still relies upon a fewstationary cameras manned by cameramen, each of which track the athleticevent from a different angle. It is still a goal of both televisionnetworks and athletic associations to improve the methods used to filmathletic events to enhance a television viewer's experience. Therefore,it would be desirable to provide an improved camera assembly capable ofproviding images of an athletic event to enhance the experience of thetelevision viewer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An assembly for mounting a remote controlled camera uses a frame affixedto a mounting surface for supporting the camera. A first member isrotationally mounted to the frame and defines a first axis of rotation.A second member is rotationally mounted to the first member and definesa second axis of rotation that intersects with the first axis ofrotation. The camera is rotationally mounted to the second member at alocation spaced from the second axis and rotates around at least a thirdand fourth axis relative to the second member.

By mounting a camera upon an assembly having the configuration set forthabove, which provides four axis of rotation, unique camera angles andlines of sight can be established to produce exciting images of an eventfor television viewership. By adjusting the length of the second member,a camera can be suspended just a few feet from an athletic event toproduce images that replicate participating in the occurring event.Furthermore, providing four axis of rotation enables a real time imageto be generated from 360° around the event with a single camera. None ofthe prior art assemblies used to mount a remotely controlled camera havebeen able to provide this imagery.

Mounting a camera in this manner, is particularly suited for filmingfast moving athletic events such as, for example, hockey, boxing andbasketball, each of which has proven to be difficult to film except froma stationary camera having a wide angle lens adjustment. Moving a cameraalong four axis, can give the appearance of actually moving along withthe players of an athletic event up and down the athletic field or arenaheretofore not previously available.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated asthe same becomes better understood references to the following detaileddescription when considered in connection with the accompanying drawingswherein:

FIG. 1 is a top down view of the inventive camera assembly positionedover a hockey rink;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the inventive camera assembly showing variouslines of sight of a player in an athletic event;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the inventive camera assembly showing variousangles of rotation;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the camera assembly showing movement of thecamera in a generally vertical direction;

FIG. 5 shows an alternative arrangement of the camera assembly; and

FIG. 6 shows two axis of rotation of the camera rotationally mounted onthe camera assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1, an assembly for mounting a remote controlled camerais generally shown at 10 centrally located over a hockey rink 12. Theassembly 10 supports a camera 14 in a manner that allows the camera tobe rotated above the rink 12 along a first axis of rotation 16 360°providing unique angles of photography for the event taking place below.While a hockey rink is represented in FIG. 1, other venues for use arealso contemplated by the inventor including, but not limited to, boxing,basketball, various outdoor sporting events, and indoor and outdoorperformance arts, such as, for example, concerts. The assembly 10 ispreferably operated via a remote control 18 with the assistance of acontroller 20. The remote control can take the form of a joy stick (notshown) or other device capable of translating movement from an operatorto the assembly 10. The controller 20 is programmed with softwareenabling a translation of the movement generated by the operator via theremote control 18 to pivot, pan, tilt, and zoom the focus of the camerato adjust the photographic angles of the event taking place below.

Furthermore, the software is contemplated to use a kinomatic model toenhance the operation of the assembly 10 by the operator. For example,the software, via the controller 20, will dampen the movement of theassembly 10 to reduce or eliminate vibration or uneven movements of theassembly 10 by the operator. The software, via the controller 20, willeven slow down the movement of the assembly 10 to assist the operator intransitioning from one photographic angle to another. To assist thisfunction, each of the electromechanical elements used to manipulate theassembly 10, which are set forth below, transmit computer readablesignals to the controller indicating the location and direction of thecamera. This enables the operator to move the camera in real time totrack the event occurring below. The remote control 18 is alternativelymounted above a screen showing the arena 12 and the location of theassembly 10 relative to the arena 12 to better enable the operator tofollow the event taking place below the assembly 10. A still furtheralternative allows the operator to view the event through a virtualreality head set and to move the assembly accordingly.

A still further Alternative, contemplates the controller 20 beingprogrammed with predetermined locations so that the assembly 10 may beimmediately moved upon the push of a button, such as, for example, tothe front of a net 22 of a hockey arena 12. This allows the operator torapidly film action occurring at the predetermined location.

The software programmed to the controller 20 also detects vibrationoccurring as a result of rapid movements of the assembly 10 and adjuststhe image generated by the camera 14 to eliminate transmission of avibration which may distort the image. In each of the cases set forthabove, two way communication is generated between the controller 20 andthe assembly 10, and the controller 20 and the remote control 18. Thetwo way communication is contemplated to be generated via hardwire.However, RF communication, or some combination of hardwire and RFcommunication, may also be used to transmit the appropriate signals.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a preferred embodiment of the assembly 10 isshown having a frame 24 affixed to a mounting surface 26. Preferably,the mounting surface is a roof of an arena having a generally horizontalorientation. However, an appendage of the arena having a verticalorientation, or a truss otherwise mounted to the arena may also be usedto derive the mounting surface 26.

One desirable location of the assembly 10 is at a spaced locationbeneath a scoreboard 28 that is generally suspended from the mountingsurface 26 by a scoreboard truss 30. It is possible to construct theframe as a truss so that the frame 30 is inserted through the center ofthe scoreboard 28, which generally has an open center area. Preferably,the assembly 10 is located at a spaced location below the scoreboard 28so that that assembly 10 may be located generally in the central area ofthe rink 12.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a first member 32 is rotationally mounted tothe frame 24 defining a first axis of rotation 16 (FIGS. 1 and 5). Asecond member 34 is rotationally mounted to the first member 32 defininga second axis of rotation 36 that intersects the first axis of rotation16. An actuator 38 is operably connected between the first member 32 andthe second member 34 at spaced locations from the second axis ofrotation 36.

The actuator 32 rotates the second member 34 around the second axis ofrotation 36 by lifting and lowering the second member 34. In thisembodiment, the second axis of rotation 36 is generally located at adistal end 152 of the first member 32, at spaced location from the frame124. The actuator 38 is driven by either servo-motors, hydraulically, orpneumatically. The actuator 38 is formed from a first element 40 and asecond element 42 that telescopes relative to the first element 40 torotate the second member 34 in a downward direction, and retractrelative to the first element 40 to lift the second member 34 in anupward direction.

A drive motor 44 is operably connected to the first member 32 via afirst gear 46 that drivably engages a second gear 48 disposed upon thefirst member 32. The gears 46, 48 translate rotational movement to thefirst member 32 thereby pivoting the first member 32 around the firstaxis as will be explained further below.

Referring now to FIG. 4, an alternative embodiment of the assembly isgenerally shown at 110. In this embodiment, a first member 132 includesa distal end 152 that is spaced from the frame 124 and the second axisof rotation 136 is spaced above the distal end 152 of the first member132. An actuator 138 is operably connected between the distal end 152 ofthe first member 132 and the second member 134 at a location spaced fromthe second axis of rotation 136. The actuator 138 operates in the samemanner as the original embodiment to raise and lower the second member134. However, to lower the second member 134, the second element 142retracts into the first element 140 and to rotate the second member 134in an upward direction, the second element 142 telescopes outwardly fromthe first element 140.

As best shown in FIG. 5, a mount 54 operably connects the camera 14 tothe second member 34. The mount 54 includes a first motor 56 thatrotates the camera 14 around a third axis of rotation 58. The third axisof rotation 58 allows the camera 14 to pan the arena 12 independent ofthe first axis of rotation 16. A second motor 60 rotates the camera 14around a fourth axis of rotation 62. The fourth axis of rotation 62allows the camera 14 to tilt independent of the second axis of rotation36. The preferred mount 54 is a servo-CP pan/tilt head manufactured byTelemetrics, Inc., which provides a compact, lightweight mount tosupport the camera 14 by providing two axis 58, 60 of rotation to thecamera 14. It should be understood by those of skill in the art thatalternative mounts that provide two axis of rotation may also be used.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a schematic is shown of the assembly 10 whereinthe 360° range of motion provided to the second member 34 isrepresented. The second member 34 pivots around the first axis 16, asset forth above, moving the camera 14 360° providing an unobstructedview for the camera 14 to every corner of the rink 12. The camera 14additionally pivots around third axis 58 allowing the camera to focus ona single competitor taking a part in the event and follow the competitoraround the arena 12 as though the camera 14 is moving along with thecompetitor 64. The speed of the event dictates the reaction timerequired of an operator. During a hockey game. The operator will have tomanipulate the assembly 10 at a rapid pace. A basket ball game requiresless rapid manipulation and a football game requires even less rapidmanipulation than a basket ball game. The positioning of the assembly 10prevents the camera 14 from ever interfering with the view of theaudience of the event. This provides a seemingly limitless member ofcamera angles to photograph the competitor 60 as is best represented inFIG. 2. By pivoting the camera around the fourth axis 62 as shown inFIG. 5, unique angles can be obtained by rotating the second member 34around the second axis of rotation 36 as best represented in phantom inFIG. 2. Therefore, the camera 14 can be lowered to nearly the same levelas the event taking place below to give the viewer the illusion of beingon the rink 12 while the event is taking place.

The invention has been described in an illustrative manner, and it is tobe understood that the terminology which has been used is intended to bein the nature of words of description rather than of limitation.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present inventionare possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to beunderstood that within the scope of the appended claims, whereinreference numerals are merely for convenience and are not to be in anyway limiting, the invention may be practiced otherwise than asspecifically described.

1. An assembly for mounting a remotely controlled camera, comprising: aframe affixed to a mounting surface for supporting the camera; a firstmember rotationally mounted to said frame defining a first axis ofrotation; a second member rotationally mounted to said first memberdefining a second axis of rotation intersecting said first axis ofrotation; and said camera rotationally mounted to said second member ata location spaced from said second axis of rotation, wherein said camerarotates around at least a third axis and a fourth axis relative to saidsecond member.
 2. An assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein saidmounting surface comprises a generally horizontal plane.
 3. An assemblyas set forth in claim 1, wherein said frame comprises a truss suspendedfrom said mounting surface.
 4. An assembly as set forth in claim 1,comprising an actuator operably connected between said first member andsaid second member at locations spaced from said second axis ofrotation.
 5. An assembly as set forth in claim 4, wherein said actuatorprovides driving movement to said second member thereby rotating saidsecond member around said second axis of rotation.
 6. An assembly as setforth in claim 1, comprising a drive motor operably connected to saidfirst member thereby rotating said first member around said first axisof rotation.
 7. An assembly as set forth in claim 1, comprising a mountoperably connecting said camera to said second member.
 8. An assembly asset forth in claim 7, wherein said mount includes a first motor forrotating said camera around said third axis thereby panning said camera.9. An assembly as set forth in claim 8, wherein said mount includes asecond motor for rotating said camera around said fourth axis therebytilting said camera.
 10. An assembly as set forth in claim 1, whereinsaid first member comprises a distal end spaced from said frame and saidsecond axis of rotation is positioned generally adjacent said distalend.
 11. An assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein said first membercomprises a distal end spaced from said frame and said second axis ofrotation is spaced from said distal end.
 12. An assembly as set forth inclaim 11, comprising an actuator operably connected between said distalend of said first member and said second member at a location spacedfrom said second axis of rotation.
 13. A method of taping an eventcomprising the steps of: providing a camera assembly suspended above theevent wherein said assembly supports a camera movable around four axisdefining 360° line of sight for said camera of the event; providing acontrol device located at a remote location, wherein said control deviceis capable of moving said camera around said four axis; moving saidcamera from said remote location by rotating said camera around saidfour axis; and taping the event with said camera from said 360° line ofsight by moving said camera around said four axis thereby generating animage of the event.
 14. The method as set forth in claim 13, comprisingthe step of providing a controller device programmable for operatingsaid camera assembly from said remote location.
 15. The method as setforth in claim 13, comprising the step of following the event when theevent moves below said camera assembly by moving said camera around saidfour axis from said remote location.
 16. The method as set forth inclaim 14, comprising moving said camera to a predetermined line of sightby programming said controller with said predetermined line of sightindependent of said control device.
 17. The method as set forth in claim14, comprising step of programming said controller to adjust movementsof said camera made from said control device thereby improving thequality of said image generated by said camera.
 18. The method as setforth in claim 14, comprising programming said controller to adjust saidimage generated by said camera to reduce vibration generated from movingsaid camera assembly.
 19. The method as set forth in claim 14,comprising the step of signally a location of said camera to saidcontroller from said camera assembly.
 20. The method as set forth inclaim 13, comprising the step of filming the event from 360° with asingle camera in real time.
 21. The method as set forth in claim 13,wherein said step of rotating said camera around said four axis isfurther defined by rotating said camera around said four axissimultaneously.